How to Have a Healthier Body in 9 Easy Steps

Want to have a healthier body? It doesn't have to be an endless struggle to get in shape and improve your health—it just takes a few simple steps in the right direction! Here are a few things you can do today:

Sleep More

A good night's sleep is important for so many reasons: it decreases your appetite, encourages better muscle growth, reduces fatigue, gives you more energy for your workouts, sharpens your concentration, and enables fat burning. Get at least 7 solid hours of sleep at night, 7 nights a week!

Meditate

Your mind is as important as your body! Spend time meditating to relax your mind and body, soothe stressful thoughts, and cleanse anxiety from your life. Meditating can encourage weight loss, enhance mindfulness, and make you more alert throughout the day. Even just 10-20 minutes of meditation per day can do wonders.

Drink More Water

Your body needs more water in order to function—it's made up of 2/3 water, after all! Water helps to suppress your appetite, boost your energy levels, and improve fat burning. Try to drink at least 3 liters of water per day, but don't hesitate to drink more.

Drink More Tea

Green, black, white, oolong, and Pu-Erh tea all contain antioxidants that will improve your health and reduce the oxidative damage caused by stress, environmental toxins, and chemicals. Tea can also improve fat burning, enhance memory and cognitive function, and give you a subtle boost of energy without the crash common with coffee.

Work Out

A daily workout is a must for your health. Try to mix up aerobic (running, cycling, walking, jogging, rowing, swimming, etc.) and anaerobic (HIIT, CrossFit, weightlifting) workouts, and spend no less than the 150 minutes per week recommended by the US Government. The more exercise you do, the healthier you'll be!

Stretch

Stretching is easily as important as your workout itself. Stretching helps to limber up your muscles and loosen joints that may have stiffened from long hours of sitting down. Spending a few minutes stretching every day can help to improve your mobility and posture, which can prevent a number of range of movement issues.

Get Out

The more time you can spend outdoors, the better! Not only are you more likely to move when you're outside, but you get more time in the sun: your best source of Vitamin D. Though you really only need about 30 minutes of sunlight every day to get your daily recommended dose of Vitamin D, it's always best to spend more time outside and active.

Move Around

Even if you can't get to the gym every day, you should still make an effort to move around. That means spend more time walking—to your car, around the office, up the stairs, around the shopping mall, at the park, and anywhere else you can move. Spend less time sitting on your couch and more time outside the house, engaged in activities that get you moving. More movement is the key to better weight loss, as movement stimulates your metabolism and signals to your body that you need energy. Even if you never see the inside of a gym, moving around more will be enough to promote weight loss.